Apparatus for supplying ink in printing presses



April 26, 1938. 2,115,081 I APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING INK IN PRINTINGPRESSES T. PADULA Filed May 5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llil.

INVENTOR Frdu/a NWM f/WWfi ATTORNEY April 26, .1938. T; PADULA APPARATUSFOR SUPPLYING INK IN PRINTING PRESES Filed May 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR T/mmas Pzda [a ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE Thomas Padilla, Jersey City, N. J.

Application May 5, 1937, Serial No. 140,796

5 Claims.

This invention relates to inking means and to means and methods forapplying ink on type in printing presses and more particularly toapparatus and devices for distributing ink on inking rollers andapplying it to type on reciprocating beds:

One object of the invention is to provide an improved vibrating meansfor vibrators or distributing rollers for form-inking rollers.

Other objects of the invention are to provide an improved device of thiskind which will apply ink to a wide areaof type with a minimum oftype-bed travel and distribute the ink evenly without increased wear andtear on the press.

Additional objects of the invention are to improve generallythe'simplicity and efliciency of such methods and apparatus and toprovide an extremely simple easily adjusted distributing ap paratus ofthis kind, free of gears, which is economical, durable, and reliable inoperation, economical to manufacture and install, and will not causeloss of speed to the press.

Still other objects of the invention will appear as the descriptionproceeds; and while herein details of the invention are described, theinvention is not limited to these, since many and various changes may bemade without departing from the scope of the appended claims,interpreted as broadly as is consistent with the state of the prior art.1

The inventive features for the accomplishment of these and other objectsare shown herein in connection with an improved inking device whichbriefly stated, is shown in combination with a press having a printingroller under which a typecarrying bed reciprocates to bring the typethereon into engagement with paper carried around by said roller. Theusual iountain supplied inking rollers are disposed near one side of theprinting roller for engaging and supplying ink to type on theintermediate part and one end part only of the bed while my improvedsupplemental inking device is disposed near the other side of theprinting roller for picking up ink from'type on intermediate parts ofthe bed and applying said ink to type at the outer end of the bed, tocause thorough ink distribution and allow printing from all parts of thebed, thus increasing the effective length of the bed without increasingthe length of the press frame; In practice, the ink thus picked up anddistributed by the supplemental device may be supplied entirely by theink supplied to the type by the regular rollers.

My improved device may be supplied in various forms. For instance, thedevice may comprise a pair of brackets disposed on opposite sides of thepress and carrying upper and lower journal bearings, the lower bearingscarrying parallel form rollers which rotate back and forth as the typeon the bed reciprocates. A vibrator roller rests on said form rollersand is rotated by gears from a rack on the bed. The vibrator is providedwith shafts rotary in the upper bearing, the shaft at, at least, one endbeing threaded and received in an internally threaded bushing yieldablyvrotatable in the adjacent upper bearing and normally yieldably heldagainst rotary movement, whereby the rotating distributor is movedlongitudinally back and forth as it rotates back and forth.

Stop collars secured on the vibrator shaft a short distance from thesleeve, with the bushing therebetween, are each provided with aprojection engageable with an adjacent lug on the adjacent end of thebushing thereby to rotate the bushing with the threaded shaft to causelongi tudinal movement of the shaft to cease, thereby to confine suchmovement to convenient limits.

Additional control means may be provided for raising the inner formroller during and just after the pause of the bed at its outward'limit,to prevent leaving a heavier ink zone at such pause, said inner formroller lowering in time to remove any heavier ink zone that may havebeen left by the outer form roller.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l is a fragmental side elevationshowing an endof apress to which my device is applied;

Fig. 2 is a plan showing the press bed;

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the sides of they 7 Figs. 6 and 7 arerespectively side elevations, partly in section, and end elevation ofone of the vibrator gears and its bearing bracket; 7 Fig. 8 is anelevation partly in section showing the side of the inner form rollerand parts of said control means;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of parts of said control means; and

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view of the form rollers and vibratorshowing the inner form roller as slightly raised by said control means.My invention is shown in combination with 3.

Kelly press comprising side frame members l0,

1) for reciprocating the bed to bring the type ll (Fig. 4) thereon intoengagement with paper presented to the roller at the path 18 and carriedaround by said roller and discharged along the path l9. The ink fountain28 supplies ink to rollers 2| which in turn supply it to inking.rollers' 25 near the inner side of the printing roller, and engagingtype on the bed as the bed moves inwardly during printing. On the Kellypress the bed moves inward (rightward on Fig. 1) far enough to ink thetype at the inner end margin 26' (Fig. 2) and the intermediate portion21 of the bed, but not far enough inwardly to engage marginal type atthe extreme outer margin 28 of the bed.

The supplemental inking device 30 (Fig. l) is disposed near the outerside of the printing roller I 4 and picks up ink from type onintermediate parts 2'! of the bed and applies it to marginal type at 28to allow printing from all parts of the bed, thus greatly increasing theeffectivelength of the bed l2 without increasing the length of the pressframe l0.

Said device 30 comprises a pair of roller brackets 32 which are secured,by bolts 33 (Fig. 3) opposite to each other on the respective side framemembers l near the outer side of the printing roller I, each bracketcomprising upstanding inner and end guide-members 35, 36 disposed in arow along the side frame member, and forming upright middle and endslots 31, 38, the middle slot 31 being the'tallest.

Upper and lower roller sockets or journal blocks 40,4! are verticallyadjustable in said middle and end slots 37, 38 respectively and areprovided with flanges 42 (Fig. for holding the blocks in place. Thelower sockets 4! are held in adjusted position by adjusting set screws44 engaged thereunder and support a pair of parallel form rollers 45adapted to engage the type and each provided with an axial roller shaft46' (Fig. 3) engaged atv each end of the roller in corresponding journalblocks 4|.

A bearing bracket 48, 49 (Figs. 3, 6 and '7) having a lower flange 49mounted fast on the inner face of one of the roller brackets, comprisesa largetubular bearing portion 48 spacedcoaxially around the adjacentend of one of the roller shafts, 46, and is provided with an outerannular shoulder 56 and adjacent reduced portion 5| forming an outercylindrical bearing face rotatably receiving a large ring gear 52against said Shoulder 5%). A retaining collar 53, secured on the outermargin of said reduced portion, holds said gear in place, I

An engagement means such as a rack 55 (Fig. 2) carried on an'adjacentside member and an extension 56 alined therewith on the side of the bedengages said ring gear 52, during the outer and extreme inner movementsof the bed, thereby to rotate the ring gear back and forth as the bedreciprocates. A vibrator or distributor roller 51 resting on said formrollers 45 is provided with axial or end shafts 58 rotary in said uppersockets 48, one end of said vibrator 51 being provided with a wide gear59 meshing with said ring gear, whereby the vibrator is rotated back andforth by the ring gear, at various positions of longitudinal movementofthe vibrator, to be hereinafterexplained.

At least one end shaft 58 is provided with threads 66, at least oneupper socket or journal block 40, the one at the thread 60, has a largebore 62 (Fig. 5) receiving an internally threaded ex- "ternallycylindrical bushing 63 engaged on the threads of said shaft 59 anddisposed in, and at times rotary in, said large bore, and provided atone end with an end flange 64 provided with a lug 65 on its outer endface. A nut 66 secured on the other end of the sleeve by a set screw 61is also provided with a lug 68 on its outer end face.

A friction washer 18 between said nut and block assists in yieldablyholding the sleeve at times against rotation, thereby to cause thevibrator to travel longitudinally in one direction or the other,depending upon its direction of rotation.

Stop collars l2, 13 are adjustably secured by pins on the vibrator shaftnear the ends of the threaded portion a distance apart about as great asthe length of the sleeve plus the distance of longitudinal travel of thedistributor; and each collar is provided on its face toward the sleevewith an inner lug or projection 14 engageable, the one or the other,with the adjacent lug 65 or 68 as the vibrator moves longitudinally andas a collar moves toward and reaches the lug. This causes the sleeve 63to overcome the friction and rotate with the threaded shaft 59 and stopthe relative rotation between the threaded shaft and the sleeve, therebystopping endwise movement of the vibrator, thus to limit such movementto the extent desired.

A latch plate 16 pivoted on a screw H on the top face of an innerupstanding member 35 of each bracket is provided with a lateral recess18 at its free end to receive a clamping screw 19 on the adjacent innermember 35 for clamping the latch plate to the bracket. An adjustingscrew 86 passes downwardly through the latch plate and bears on thejournal block 40 of the vibrator, to give the latter the proper pressureagainst the form roller 45. vibrator, the screw 19 is unclamped and theplate 16 pivoted to remove the plate and screw 80 en tirely away fromthe space 37, whereupon the vibator and blocks 4! may be removedupwardly from the brackets. v e

The operation will be easily understood from the foregoing. Usually itis desirable to apply a small amount of ink to the distributor.Reciprocation of the type bed carries the type back and forth under therollers thus applying enough ink to the type at 26 and 2! (Fig. 2), butnot any at the edge portion 28. As the portions 2'! pass under therollers 45, these rollers pick up ink which, through the operation ofthese rollers and the vibrator, is transferred to type at the edgeportion 28.

Reciprocation of the bed, and rack 55, 56 ro-' tates the gears 52 and59, and therefore also the.

roller 5'! with its shaft, and the two form rollers. The friction actingon the sleeve 63 holds the sleeve against rotation at intermediatepositions of the longitudinal movement of the vibrator, and causes thethreaded shaft 58 tomove in one longitudinal direction or the other,depending upon the direction of rotation, until a predetermined limit ofmovement (depending on the position ofadjustment of the collars T2, 13but not greaterthan the width of the gear 59) is reached, whereupontheengagement of the lugs 74 causes the sleeve to rotate with thethreaded shaft so that longitudinal movement of the vibrator ceases until the direction of rotation is reversed. Longi When it is desired toremove the This is not absolutely necessary, as the form rollers pick upink from the intermediate type and transfer it to the outer end type. Onthe other hand ink may be supplied at intervals or continuously to thevibrator roll by hand; or a fountain as at 25 in Fig. 1 may be providedfor the vibrator roller or to other forms of inking means at the outerend part of the press.

The rollers 15 are disposed over the type during the necessary pausewhen the bed reverses from outward to inward movement. If the rollers 45rest upon the type during this pause, they might leave more ink on thetype at the point of contact, which might cause a darker zone across theprinted sheet. To prevent this, control means, about to be described,are provided for holding the inner roller 45 raised during this pause.It is not necessary to raise the outer roller 45, as the inner roller 45is lowered quickly enough to re-.

move the heavier ink zone left on the type by the outer roller.

As shown in Fig. l, the shaft iii of the printing roller I d rotates invertically guided slidable bearing blocks 82 for said roller at the endsthereof; and means, later to be described, are provided for raising eachblock 82 and consequently the roller Id, when the bed moves outwardly,to prevent the roller from dragging on the type.

Means is provided for raising the form roller 45 nearest the printingroller as the bed moves outwardly-and pauses at its outward limit, to

prevent excessive ink from such roller at such time, said means loweringsuch roller as soon as the bed begins to move inward. This means is hereshown, by way of example, as operated from the blocks 82, and comprisesvertical slide rods 83, 84 carried by each bearing block 82 on oppositesides of the printing roller shaft, the rod 83 carrying a lateralbracket 85 (Fig. 9), in turn carrying a vertical push rod 35 having aflat head 81 engaged under the journal block l! of the form roller 45nearest the printing roller, whereby when the roller 14 is raised theinner roller 45 is raised also.

The means for raising the printing roller is here shown as comprising ateach end of the roller, an upright toggle 95, 9| under each block 82having its upper end pivoted to the block and the lower end pivoted tothe frame it). A link 92 has one end connected to the toggle joint ofthe toggle and the other provided with a roller engaging in a cam groove94 in a rotary disk cam 95 on the frame thereby to reciprocate theroller, link and toggle joint, thereby to raise the printing roller asthe bed moves outwardly. The shape of the groove 95 is such that saidcontrol means holds the inner form roller 45 raised during the pause ofthe bed during its reversal at its outward limit, thereby to prevent thecausing of an ink stripe by the inner roller during the pause, and suchthat the control means lowers said inner form roller 45 to the typebefore any ink stripe which may be caused by the outer roller 45 reachesthe inner roller, thereby to cause the inner roller to erase suchstripe.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a reciprocatory bed. having a rack longitudinal tothe path of the bed; an inking device comprising a pair of bearingbrackets on opposite sides of said path; parallel form rollers havingroller end shafts mounted in the brackets; a large stationary tubularbearing member mounted and spaced coaxially around the adjacent end oneof theroller shafts; a ring gear rotatably received on said bearingmember meshing with said rack; a distributor roller resting on said formrollers and provided with end shafts rotary in the upper part of saidbearing brackets, one end of said vibrator having a gear meshing withsaid ring gear, and means for causing endwise reciprocation of thevibrator when rotated back and forth.

2. In combination, a frame; a printing roller on the frame adapted toreceive paper carried around the roller in one direction; a bedreciprocatory to bring the type thereon into engagement with the paperwhen the bed moves inwardly; vertically guided slidable bearing blocksfor said roller at the ends thereof; means for raising each block andconsequently the roller when the bed moves outwardly, inking rollersnear one side of the printing roller for engaging type on the bed whenthe bed is at inward position, a supplemental inking device near theother side of the printing roller comprising a pair of brackets onopposite sides of the frame, each bracket having guide slots; journalblocks vertically adjustable in said slots respectively; parallel formrollers having shafts mounted in the blocks; and means operated, fromsaid bearing blocks for raising the form roller nearest the printingroller as the bed moves outwardly and pauses at its outward limit, toprevent excessive ink from such roller at such time, and lowering suchroller as soon as the bed begins to mov inward.

3. In a combination as in claim 2, said last named means comprisingvertical slide rods carried by each bearing block on opposite sides ofthe printing roller shaft and guided at the lower ends in the frame; abracket onthe rod nearestthe form rollers; and a push rod carried bysaid bracket and having a flat head engaged under the journal block ofthe form roller nearest the printing roller.

4. In a combination as in claim 2, said means for raising the printingroller comprising an upright toggle at each block having its upper endpivoted to the block and the lower end pivoted to the frame; a linkhaving one end connected to the toggle joint of each toggle and theother provided with a roller; and rotary disks on the frame and eachprovided with an eccentric cam groove to receive and reciprocate theroller, link and toggle joint thereby to raise the printing roller asthe bed moves outwardly and during said pause.

5. An attachment for a printing press having a frame and a type bedmovable thereon and having an upper rack; comprising a pair of likespaced companion ink distributing rollers engageable with the bed; arotatable endwise movable roller having a diameter different from thatof the first rollers and engaging the latter, said endwise movableroller having thereon and aligned with the periphery thereof an elongategear, a tubular bearing fixed on the frame concentric with one of thedistributing rollers and having a diameter equal thereto, and a ringgear freely mounted on said bearing and meshed with said rack and withthe first gear.

THOMAS PADULA.

